The Twenty-Seven
by daywalker03
Summary: Lieutenant-Commander Michelle Parker-Rodenko tells the story of how she became the first known human to visit Cybertron. Starts with her involvement with the restoration of Cybertron, partway through Deadlock.
1. Prolog, Part One

The Twenty-Seven

A War for Cybertron/Fall of Cyberton/Transformers Prime Fan Fiction

By daywalker03

Deadlock

-Hanger E-

"Ultra Magnus to all units. We will be delayed; Soundwave pulled one of his relocation tricks," Ultra Magnus said as the Wreckers stood after an abrupt ground bridge displacement, and stared at the surrounding Vehicons. His frustration was apparent to me as his voice came through the console.

"Raf, can you get me onto the Warship's Bridge?" Jack asked, as he heard the report from Ultra Magnus.

"Sure, now that I have a fix on it," Raf replied, " but you won't have a chance against Soundwave."

"I will if I have backup," Jack replied, looking at Miko, who looked back at him with a smirk.

I stood in the hanger with the teens and Agent Fowler listening to the Autobot assault on the Decepticon Warship. We weren't alone, either; Buster and Grunt were with me, as well as Alpha, Beta and Gamma, the heavy hitters of the Twenty-Seven. "Swift, prepare to open a Ground Bridge on my command. Miko, suit up in the Apex Armor and follow Jack through. Buster, Grunt; we're going to need the extra firepower, so cyberlink with your partners and prepare for battle," I said.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma transformed into their aircraft modes and Buster, Grunt and I ran to join them; taking our seats in the cockpits of the aircraft, I carefully considered the consequences of what we were about to do. Storming the bridge of the enemy ship, with one of the most dangerous known Decepticons present there would be a challenge, especially after what had happened to Ultra Magnus and his team. As I triggered the link transformation, I heard Jack say, "Raf, after we go through, be prepared to open a ground bridge if we need a 'tactical advantage' over Soundwave."

"Good thinking Daybreaker," I said once Osprey Alpha had formed around me. "Swift, time for the initial entry; Beta, Gamma and I will follow Miko through and deal with anything that threatens Daybreaker," I continued as we formed in front of the main hanger doors. Raf looked at me as if to ask how I knew his Cybertronian designation, then opened the ground bridge.

-Nemesis Bridge-

~~Soundwave's point of view~~

A sudden chiming alerted the Decepticon forces on the bridge to the manifestation of the ground bridge; the four Vehicons closest stood their ground, pointing their blasters into the opening. Suddenly, a tiny figure appeared and they lowered their weapons to cover him. He looked up at them and said a single word, "Surprise."

~~Osprey Alpha's point of view~~

Jack had entered first, as intended, with Miko close behind; Beta, Gamma and myself followed close behind her, knowing that we needed to keep the Decepticons off-balance long enough to take control of the bridge and get it away from Earth before the 'Cons could use their new Omega Lock to finish what they had started in Jasper. We came out with our weapons ready, only to find that Miko, in the Apex Armor, had taken care of the few Vehicons on the bridge; however, there was still the issue of dealing with Soundwave. As I watched, Miko ran toward Soundwave and he did exactly what I suspected he would; he opened a ground bridge portal in front of himself.

"Raf, show time," Jack said, knowing that we had to time this just right; if the second portal wasn't placed just right, it wouldn't neutralize the threat that Soundwave posed to Miko, and by extension, anyone else on the bridge. I also suspected that Raf might have misgivings about this, which were confirmed by the next thing I heard from Jack; "Do it, Raf. Now." A second portal appeared behind Soundwave, who turned to see what was affecting him; the two fields interacted, and canceled each other out, leaving him apparently unharmed. I ran across the bridge as he advanced on Miko and Jack, hoping that I would get there in time to stop him, as did Beta and Gamma; we didn't need to worry, as his hand and body passed harmlessly through them, and Miko said smugly, "Enjoy the Shadowzone, dude."

"Come on, we need to figure out how to navigate this thing," Jack said and Miko ran to the console that Soundwave had been standing at when we arrived. She set him down carefully on the console and he started studying the controls. Beta and Gamma went over to help him, which left me to guard the bridge.

"Osprey Alpha to Ultra Magnus; Bridge secured for the moment, but we could use some backup here," I said over the Wrecker comm channel. "On our way, Alpha," Ultra Magnus responded, the sound of blaster fire and a few heavy thumps that could only be from Bulkhead's wrecking balls hitting against Vehicon bodies filling the channel as he spoke.

Suddenly, the ship lurched, throwing us hard to the side; I looked up as I heard Miko exclaim, "Dude, where did you learn to drive," and had to try hard not to laugh. Jack wasn't quite visible from where I was standing, but I suspected that he just turned to glare at her as if to say "if you think you can do better, be my guest" before returning to the controls. "Miko, cut Jack some slack; piloting this thing isn't like driving a car or a motorcycle. Besides, I suspect that the sudden and unorthodox flight pattern is playing havoc with any attempts to target the Omega Lock, which is something we need to prevent," I said.

"Jack, you and Miko stay here; there's something I need to do," I said suddenly, stepping out into the hallway. "Beta and Gamma will cover you until Ultra Magnus and the rest of the Wreckers get here." Miko looked at me funny, and Jack said, "Be careful of the Vehicons out there," without looking away from the controls. I moved down the hall at a brisk pace, until I found the passageway that the Stealth Team had taken to join up with Ratchet. The passageway was littered with the chassis of numerous Vehicons, but I had no trouble making my way to where the Omega Lock was. As I walked through the door, I saw the opening in the floor and several energy bolts that could only have been fired by Megatron coming up to impact on the ceiling.

The shocked silence, broken only by my pedefalls on the floor, told me that something was going on that I needed to see, so I carefully moved to the edge and looked over. My vision clouded briefly as I saw Bumblebee falling toward the pool of cyber-matter, the Star Saber falling toward the ledge. I fell to my knees, hoping that somehow Bumblebee wasn't dead, even though it sure looked like it from here. I could hear the mixed sounds of denial and triumph from the Autobots and Decepticons in the chamber, and the sudden sound of Optimus loosing control of his temper and striking Megatron; I briefly toyed with the idea of joining him, when Megatron let loose with an Dark Energon discharge from the Dark Star Saber. I watched in horror as Optimus was flung back and went skidding over the edge of the Omega Lock. Megatron strode over and raised his weapon high over his head, "Prepare to join your scout in the AllSpark."

Just as he said those words, I saw movement behind him and heard a voice calling out, "Megatron!" As Megatron turned, I saw a black and yellow figure swing the Star Saber over his head and out in front of him, thrusting it through Megatron's Spark Chamber. Bumblebee stood glaring at Megatron and said very clearly, "You took my voice; you will never rob anyone, of anything, ever again." Megatron struggled to stay on his feet. Weakly raising the Dark Star Saber over his head, he finally realized the truth; he was dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Dropping it, he fell to his knees and weakly attempted to grip the Star Saber. I heard a noise and looked to my left; Smokescreen had shaken off his Vehicon captors and Starscream was, well, groveling; "Lord Megatron, no." Megatron's Decep symbol, which glowed purple from his Dark Energon, slowly dimmed, as did his eyes. He then slid back and fell lifelessly over the edge, falling past Optimus into Earth's atmosphere.

"I will avenge you, Master," shouted Starscream, as Shockwave attempted to restrain him; "Starscream, do not be a fool," he said, while Starscream grumbled, "Curse you and your logic." They turned and ran out of the chamber, with a number of Vehicons close behind them.

As Bumblebee and Optimus came up over the edge of the floor, we gathered around them. "Bumblebee," Ratchet began, as Arcee said, " Your voice..." "My voice? What are you g- My voice! Ratchet, I have my pipes back!" Bumblebee exclaimed as he reached out to hug Ratchet, who chuckled, "Yes, yes; we noticed." I spoke up, "Ratchet, could it have been the cyber-matter?" "It is the only possible explanation, Osprey Alpha." "It would seem the old field medic made good after all," Optimus said, then turned to broadcast the news. "Optimus Prime to all units; Megatron is no more."


	2. Prolog, Part 2

The Twenty-Seven

A War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron/Transformers Prime Fan Fiction

By daywalker03

Deadlock, part 2

I heard the initial stunned silence following Optimus's announcement, followed by a exultant "Yes" from Agent Fowler back on Earth and a similar response from Wheeljack. Optimus continued, "Wreckers, a job well done securing the Bridge."

"It wasn't us, Sir," Ultra Magnus replied. "The credit belongs to the humans and Team Osprey."

"The Omega Lock is under our control; I propose we put it to good use," Ratchet said.

"Agreed, old friend," Optimus said with a slight smile. "Ultra Magnus, set course for Cybertron."

"Hey Raf, if you can tear yourself away from your laptop for two seconds; bridge yourself up here so we can get to Cybertron already," Bumblebee said over the channel to Earth. I could just imagine Agent Fowler's reaction to hearing Bumblebee's voice, and that of Raf. "Swift, I suspect that Agent Fowler will want to see this as well, so have him get his aft up here too," I said sweetly.

I turned and walked out into the corridor outside the Omega Lock chamber, and heard a soft chiming; I looked to my right and saw Alpha Squad coming through the portal from our base. Tetra ran toward me and I knelt down in my merged form to pick her up in my right servo. I placed her on my shoulder and started walking toward the bridge where I knew the others would be waiting. As we entered the bridge, I saw Swift and Agent Fowler standing on the console with Daybreaker, and I set Tetra down there as well. Agent Fowler looked at her, then looked at me as she walked over to Jack and the other kids.

"I'm officially confused; who's she?" he asked, "and why do I get the feeling there is more to that girl than meets the eye?" I felt my face plates shifting into a smile and answered, "her name is Tetra, and you're quite right about there being more to her than what is visible to the naked eye."

Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head and simultaneously saw a warning about a departing escape pod pop up on my HUD; I looked around and saw a blinking notification on a secondary console on the bridge and went over to see what it said. "Osprey Alpha to Optimus. We have a report from Trypticon; Shockwave and Starscream ejected in an escape pod just after we passed through the Space Bridge."

/*Understood Osprey Alpha; inform Trypticon that we desire a truce, should he have hostile intent once we have restored Cybertron,*/ Optimus replied.

/* No hostilities desired; Cybertron's restoration takes priority. Megatron's death released; serve Autobots now if acceptable. */

"Trypticon seems to have a better idea, Optimus; he's offered to serve us, due to Megatron's death," I said.

/*Trypticon's offer is acceptable to me,*/ Optimus replied.

"I agree, old friend; I hold no malice toward Trypticon's actions while under Megatron's influence," I said, as I returned to the control console. Jack looked up at me and smiled, "nice work, Osprey. It's going to be nice to visit Cybertron again, but this time by my own choice." I smiled and spoke, "Agreed, Jack. I'm sorry Omega Two didn't come to assist when you and the others were taken, but we couldn't step in unless Agent Fowler requested our aid. We have been watching things closely since then and were glad to assist in this."

Jack looked at me with a puzzled expression. "I'm not sure I understand; where is your base located that you had to wait for Agent Fowler to clear you?" Tetra looked over at him and spoke softly, "Guardian Osprey and I live in Russia with her husband, Colonel Vasili Rodenko and step-daughter Alana." I smiled and said, "Tetra is correct, Jack; I actually hold dual citizenship, but Team Osprey falls under the authority of the Russian branch of Unit:E, so we have to follow proper protocol."

Before Jack could answer, Wheeljack spoke, "Commander, we've arrived at the Well of Allsparks."

As Trypticon slow to a halt over the Well, Jack looked up at me and said, "In that case, I understand why; while you no doubt wanted to help, my life isn't worth possibly causing an international incident over." "It is important enough to, but now is not the time to discuss it," I replied. /*Ratchet, are you as nervous about this as I think you are?*/ I said silently into my comlink.

/* I would never have attributed such an emotion to myself, but yes, I am,*/ he responded. /* Primus is the heart and soul of Cybertron; He must be cleansed of the contamination if the entire world is to be properly restored. The Cybermatter is the one thing that can fully cleanse Him,*/ I whispered, watching the screen before us.

As we watched, the forward viewscreen shifted to an overhead view of the Omega Lock chamber, centered on the pool of cybermatter; slowly, a fine line of spark-like energy discharges appeared on the pillars as the cybermatter tanks in the lower chamber were energized. Suddenly the cybermatter glowed more brightly and shot away from the ship following the straight channel of the Well into the depths of Cybertron itself. The viewscreen dimmed to keep the intense brilliance from the cybermatter from blinding optics (both Human and Cybertronian) and we waited to see what would happen.

\- Well of Allsparks -

Deep within the heart of the massive metal world known as Cybertron is a chamber large enough to hold a dozen ships the size of the Nemesis; perhaps more. At the center of this chamber, connected to the world around it by a web of conduits barely wide enough for a single Cybertronian to walk along, is a sphere that has not been seen by any since Orion Pax sought out the legendary Matrix of Leadership in the early days of the War for Cybertron. If someone were to be here now, they would hear a faint pulsing in the air; weak, but steady. They would also see a bright pulsating light coming from the sphere, at the same cadence as the one they heard. For they would be, as Orion Pax once was, in the presence of Primus Himself.

Suddenly, a low rumbling sound is heard from above, along with a rapidly intensifying brilliance coming from a large opening in the outer surface of the chamber; the lower end of the Well of Allsparks. The cybermatter streams in, touching the surface of the Spark of Primus and flowing into and through Him. The cybermatter flows through the various conduits connected to Primus and back out into Cybertron itself; the slumbering entity stirs and awakens, recognizing the healing that is occurring in the planet itself as good, but as the flow of cybermatter cuts off abruptly, He realizes that, while much will be restored, not all can be. Still, He is grateful to those that have done this and he speaks to them for the first time in ages. Thank you, my Children.

\- Level 3, former Autobot Base, near Iacon -

The walls of the small cryogenic stasis chamber crack as the pressure of the restoration of Cybertron's core pushes outward; even the hardy metals that were forged by the builders of the underground base to reinforce the walls are no match for the unrelenting pressure building underneath the lowest level. As the chamber splits open, the healing energies begin thawing the tiny forms within. Slowly, awareness returns to the leader of the miniature soldiers, and he ventures forth to see what has transpired. He is followed at seemingly random intervals by others, and once he reaches the surface, he can sense that all of his team has awakened; at the realization of this, an ancient order from his commander takes precedence over the natural instincts of his kind and they move out, seeking a specific energy signature.

\- Aboard Nemesis/Trypticon -

The changes to the planet were hardly noticeable at first, though as the cybermatter spread through the planet's core, it became much more noticeable; we watched in awe as a bluish glow spread out through the surface of the planet, and then someone spoke and ruined the moment. "Ah, such luster," said Knockout, and we all turned to glare at him; I started toward him, as did Miko. "What? I'm joining the winning team," he said haughtily as we both drew back our fists and knocked him down; Miko had struck him with her left hand as I did so with my right, and we both turned around, pausing briefly to bump fists before crossing our arms in front of us.

\- Later, Cybertron's surface -

Optimus Prime stands alone slightly within the field of the Space Bridge, keeping it from closing behind him. Something small calls out with a request, which Optimus considers briefly, then opens a comm channel to Earth; "Ratchet, hold the Bridge open for just a little longer, old friend."

\- Earth, Unit: E hanger -

"I copy Optimus," Ratchet says, waiting to see what the reason is for the delay. I was talking with Jack and Raf, while Miko and Tetra were off exploring the base. Suddenly, we heard the clicking of tiny legs on the concrete in front of the Space Bridge and I heard Ratchet exclaim, "By the AllSpark; where did you come from?" I turned to see a sight I had not expected; there was Scraps and his team of Autobot Scraplets. I knelt down as he skittered across the concrete to me, with the others in formation behind him. They paused and I heard a very clear trilling of Cybertronian from him, and I replied in the same language; Welcome to Earth, my tiny friend. I am glad to see you. I carefully picked him up and presented him to Jack and Raf. "Jack and Raf, this is Scraps, one of the more interesting individuals I encountered during my stay on Cybertron. He and the others with him helped me out with some missions that we couldn't have accomplished without help, and Optimus couldn't spare any of the Autobots to do so."


End file.
